[NETWORK] THE GRID
Jan. 7th, 2020 12:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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» forceshadowed
Date: 2020-01-08 01:41 am (UTC)Some friends and I are going flying out to the old Fort Scyk in Stanix tomorrow, want to come? Gully says that since it was a Decepticon command post for a while, there's probably some really great stuff that got left behind there, all free for the taking. Feel like an adventure?
omg she should find her lightsaber crystal 😍
Date: 2020-01-10 08:34 am (UTC)adventure is my middle name
let me know when and where we’re meeting up and i’ll be there
She could!!
Date: 2020-01-10 08:40 am (UTC)Wait, how many names do you have?
The others are excited to see how you fly in your ship. Tomorrow at 0900 joors, we're going to make a day of it.
no subject
Date: 2020-01-10 08:51 am (UTC)oh, sorry
it's an idiom
i meant to say that i'm always ready for adventure
you can replace "adventure" with any other word that describes a trait of yours
wait what? why?
you've never seen a human fly a ship before?
okay tomorrow at 0900 joors
got it
no subject
Date: 2020-01-10 09:00 am (UTC)Oh! So it's more like a title? I'll have to think about one for myself. Coming up with a name was already a challenge.
No, they want to see YOU fly YOUR ship.
Because since Commander Starscream likes your flying, it must be amazing! He doesn't like hardly anyone's maneuvers.
no subject
Date: 2020-01-10 02:21 pm (UTC)i can think of something for you and the others later, if you want?
me?
starscream?
he said that?
[ Well color her surprised. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-01-10 03:48 pm (UTC)Well... no, he didn't say it. Not using words? But he's a lot less...
Um. Prickly? Maybe that's a good word for it.
Less prickly the times you and he have needed to fly somewhere. So that's almost the same. For him.
no subject
Date: 2020-01-15 02:22 pm (UTC)so i can give you the appropriate titles
[ Thankfully this is text because he might've heard start to laugh and then hold it back. ]
well, wow
what can i say, i'm honored?
but i'll let you be the judge of that when we meet up
no subject
Date: 2020-01-15 08:27 pm (UTC)See you tomorrow!
» vosseeker
Date: 2020-01-28 01:39 pm (UTC)really? that's sweet of him
tell me if you decided to step on the minister after all
[ It takes her a little over fifteen minutes to get to the gardens, but she gets there. She's in her uniform minus the helmet, but she's in a huffy enough mood to look like she'd rather be glammed up in a dress instead. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-01-28 02:41 pm (UTC)Starscream cuts an unusual figure among the greenery of the artificial green space, all metal and sharp edges against a backdrop of warm organic flora. Standing next to a decorative fountain, when Jane approaches he'll ping her datapad with Knock Out's "gift": updated scans of the protoforms, now numbering 11 of them.
Beside each one, the medic has marked off what information they had thus far. Seven grounders, three fliers, and one tentatively labeled "Minicon(?)" in notation. Thanks to the kyberite infusions the Hot Spot had been getting, they were all healthy and thriving. ]
He thought you would want to know that your contributions are yielding good results.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-11 11:23 am (UTC)She can't help beaming at the news, glad to see that they're healthy and growing up alright. There's a soft laugh as she realizes how she's starting to think like she's some sort of mother to them, but it's what it is. If she reaches into the Force and concentrates hard enough, she can even feel them glowing at a distance, radiating the pulsing warmth of distant stars. ]
This is great news. Your Parliament is satisfied?
no subject
Date: 2020-03-18 02:22 pm (UTC)Yes, as much as they ever are. Your aid has been, quite literally, invaluable.
You could bargain them for just about anything right now, you realize?
no subject
Date: 2020-03-19 09:09 am (UTC)[ Does Starscream realize that Jane's pleased simply because the protoforms are healthy, and not actually because she now has a bargaining chip? She's hardly even thinking that, not until he brings it up. ]
I could. Do you have any advice for me?
no subject
Date: 2020-03-21 11:24 am (UTC)[ Starscream always, and only, thinks of everything in terms of who's coming out on top and who's being manipulated to get there. ]
That depends. [ His voice drops so as not to carry in the otherwise public space. ]
Are you asking pursuant to the First Order's agenda, or your own?
no subject
Date: 2020-03-22 10:29 am (UTC)She glances around for a moment, checking if there's anyone else in the area — not that there should be. ] Mine. I know what the Order wants well enough.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-22 02:24 pm (UTC)You could ask for tech. That was what you were interested in when we first met, before the idea of your apprenticeship came up, wasn't it?
[ When he hadn't known about her intended double-cross of the First Order. When he'd still expected the barter for the kyber on Ilum. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-03-24 10:02 am (UTC)Do you think modifications can be made to my Silencer without the Order knowing?
[ It won't be much in the grand scheme of things, but it'll be something that's hers. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-03-24 10:10 am (UTC)Naturally we could. What do you want done with it?
no subject
Date: 2020-03-29 12:31 pm (UTC)I want it to be able to hyperspace skip without falling apart.
» vosseeker
Date: 2020-05-06 01:59 pm (UTC)Jane and Knock Out go on a datethis, Commander Starscream receives a series of messages in rapid succession. One message for one line / block of lines. How quaint. ]HOW COULD YOU
HOW COULD YOU????
HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO KNOCK OUT
HE'S BEEN NOTHING BUT LOYAL TO YOU
HE'S YOUR FRIEND
POSSIBLY THE ONLY FRIEND YOU HAVE LEFT
BECAUSE WE'RE NOT FRIENDS ANYMORE
[ Real mature, Jane. ]
YOU DIDN'T JUST ASK HIM TO DO SOMETHING ILLEGAL
YOU HAD TO BE AN ASS ABOUT IT
WOULD IT KILL YOU TO DO SOMETHING NICELY FOR ONCE IN YOUR KRIFFING LIFE
YOU'RE EVEN THE ONE ASKING THE DAMN FAVOR
AND YOU SAY WE HUMANS ARE THE IDIOTS!!!
YOU ARE A JERK AND A HORRIBLE PERSON
A HORRIBLE PERSON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OR WHATEVER IS THE LINGUISTICALLY CORRECT TERM
WHATEVER I DON'T CARE
ASSHOLE
YOU'RE JUST LIKE MY BROTHER
AND THAT'S NOT A COMPLIMENT
I HATE YOU
[ Yes, really mature, Janey. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-05-06 08:42 pm (UTC)Knock Out? Loyal? The mech who stabbed me in the backstrut the second he thought that throwing his lot in with the Autobots would save his own skidplate? I could apply many terms to the good doctor, but loyal is not one of them. And clearly he can't even be relied upon to keep a secret!
[ True, Knock Out had kept Starscream from offlining after finding him near-death following Predaking's savagery, but that was... different. The Autobots would surely have not approved if the medic had just let him expire, not when Knock Out was trying to ingratiate himself with them! That explained everything. ]
Being nice is superfluous when you have leverage. Knock Out had inherited a debt to settle and I collected. A simple business transaction! It's not my fault that he took it so closely to spark.
[ Except Starscream had not only known that the medic would, but had actively banked on that fact. That the loyalty Knock Out had to Breakdown's memory would be the tipping point to overcome the risk to his own station. And Starscream had been right! It had worked! So what was the problem? ]
Very well, you hate me. Shall I arrange for someone else to be assigned the remainder of your apprenticeship, Advocate Solo?
no subject
Date: 2020-05-09 06:39 am (UTC)UNBELIEVABLE
[ Knock Out had a debt and he just collected?! Clearly Starscream feels no remorse for what he's done, and if Jane were sober, she'd realize the Commander has an ability for emotional manipulation after all and learn to be wary about it. But she's drunk and high and so very upset — even the protoforms could sense that, no doubt — that all she can manage at this point is something stupid like yell at him over the network.
The last time she'd been this upset was after Ben had killed their father. She'd yelled at him then, too. ]
OH NOW YOU'RE THREATENING ME?
WHAT HAPPENED TO NOT TAKING MATTERS SO CLOSELY TO SPARK?
YOU DON'T WANT TO MAKE AN ENEMY OF ME, COMMANDER STARSCREAM
[ Why, yes, she's a dumb squishy who Starscream can possibly just crush with his foot, but she likes to think she has enough leverage with the Cybertronians now. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-05-09 07:04 am (UTC)[ They had a moderate supply of kyber now; not enough for long term seeding, but perhaps enough for the Sciences division to come up with an alternative. Perhaps. ]
You are the one implying threats.
no subject
Date: 2020-05-09 07:15 am (UTC)[ Terminate her apprenticeship prematurely? Fine. She's just going to take her babies. (Not that she's clearly thinking this through at the moment.)
She does have half a mind to turn off the capslock and try to sound a little more calm in her messages. Of course, she's anything but that. ]
If only those who care only for themselves and are unable to feel anything but their own self-interest have the capability for objectivity, then you should continue your dealings with the Supreme Leader
You two are a matched pair, you're perfect for each other
no subject
Date: 2020-05-09 07:24 am (UTC)[ Yes, he really went there. His spark continues to feel constricted, and he just as stubbornly continues to ignore it. ]
I can only assume you are not thinking clearly. I will overlook this outburst, and you will contact me tomorrow with your decision regarding your ongoing placement.
Goodnight, Advocate Solo.
no subject
Date: 2020-05-09 08:08 am (UTC)What you don't understand is that there are things some of us are not simply able to "get over" from
[ She starts to type: ] I don't need to wait until tomorrow, I KRIFFING QUIT YOU ASSHOLE
[ But before she could hit Send, she senses a collective wave of worry and panic and confusion, though it feels so far away that she has to stop and concentrate, brows furrowing as she tries to make sense of—
The protoforms. Stars, her babies.
She stares at the comm in her hands. She could leave, she could quit, and she could take the protoforms with her. But will they survive? Not without Knock Out, she knows that with certainty. What did she know about raising children, let alone children of an entirely different species?
She erases the rest of her response and lets the conversation end there, before reaching out haphazardly with the Force to the protoforms, trying to offer them comfort and solace. I'm here, she assures them. I'm okay, and I'm not going anywhere. Just angry. Not that she thinks they'll understand, but that's the best she can give them right now. ]
» forceshadowed
Date: 2020-07-31 02:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-08-01 01:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-08-01 02:11 am (UTC)You've got a lot more to lose than the illusion of civility if the alliance you two have comes apart, and honestly so does Cybertron. The bigger picture is what's important here, and that's not my emotional state.
no subject
Date: 2020-08-01 10:34 am (UTC)But you're my friend, Knock Out.
[ It's a futile argument. Not that she means it any less. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-08-01 12:41 pm (UTC)[ Not that what Starscream had done hurts Knock Out any less now than before. What Jane had witnessed that night was proof of it. But he's doing his best to keep himself on an even keel and Jane's continued presence helps with that. If the fallout from between her and Starscream ends in her sent away from Cybertron, he isn't sure what could happen to the protoforms, and they're just about the only thing keeping the medic going right now. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-08-05 12:44 pm (UTC)[ She can act like nothing had happened. She can pretend it had been a night of drunken decisions and that doesn't remember any of it. But she refuses to apologize. Even if that's the only way she can stand up for Knock Out now. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-08-05 02:49 pm (UTC)[ He is sorry that she found out what Starscream was like in this way and for the part Knock Out had played in it, unwilling or not. Starscream, against all logic and reason, appeared to like Jane, or at least enjoy having her around. Knock Out had privately wondered if she might not even instill some better traits in him before this apprenticeship was over. Maybe it was a flight frame and pilot thing. Primus knew Starscream could do with someone to talk about that sort of thing. They'd both seemed to really be in sync.
But now... with Jane acting as she was, Knock Out couldn't imagine that she'd go out of her way to engage him in anything beyond the basics required for what she had to. He certainly couldn't fault her for it.
But Knock Out felt guilty anyway, for another failure on his part to better manage himself, for letting Starscream get the upper hand in such an obvious way. Pit, he was a mess. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-08-07 12:44 pm (UTC)Maybe I should fly us into an ambush again. Or scratch his wings when we're out flying.
[ She's really just being petty and grumbly now. But since Knock Out's called her out, she's actually starting to step back and reevaluate her situation. He's right, she can't afford to jeopardize her position now. Especially not after that ambush. At the end of the day, her best chance of getting anything done is still this apprenticeship. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-08-07 07:16 pm (UTC)[ They'd just come out of a several million year war, one that had amplified and enabled the worst behaviours in all of them, regardless of their faction. None of them were saintly before the war, but it certainly hadn't done their race any favours. (And honestly, it was a wonder half of them were still functionally sane at all.) ]
I'm not telling you what you can or can't do. I just don't want everything to go to Pit because I was selfish.
no subject
Date: 2020-08-17 09:59 am (UTC)[ She gets that, truly. Although she can't imagine what it's even like for them, given that they have such long lives. She's not even thirty and she's already tired of all the wars and the fighting and just being... well, damaged. ]
Don't worry, I won't let it get to that.
I just... I'm sorry, Knock Out.
no subject
Date: 2020-08-18 03:41 am (UTC)[ Her sympathy means more to him than she probably realizes. But he doesn't want her to second guess herself now that it sounds like she'll give Starscream another chance. ]